(CNN) - Mitt Romney is famously quiet about his Mormon faith, but his campaign has said that some of Thursday’s speakers at the Republican National Convention will shed light on the candidate’s role in the church - and that Romney may open about his faith, too.

Thursday’s invocation will be delivered by Ken and Priscilla Hutchins, Mormons whom Romney befriended in their Massachusetts ward - the word Mormons use for church. Another Romney Mormon friend and former co-worker, Grant Bennett, will deliver a prime-time speech.

The speakers are part of the campaign’s broader attempt to humanize Romney at this week’s convention, which has played host to a prominent speech by Romney’s wife, Ann, and will feature speeches from more Romney friends on Thursday.

Campaign aides have hinted that Bennett would talk about Romney’s leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bennett was a bishop in Romney’s ward, serving after Romney had been bishop - the rough equivalent of a minister or priest - in the early 1980s. The Romney campaign has said that a church leader would speak Thursday about the experience of trying to “"fill Gov. Romney's shoes."

As soon as he stepped into the bishop’s role, Bennett told Borger, he was moved by his predecessor’s humility. Romney had just stepped down as a Mormon stake president - the rough equivalent of a bishop in the Catholic Church. But Romney immediately approached Bennett about his next assignment, saying he’d “look forward to any assignment that you’ll give me.”

That first post-leadership assignment turned out to be Sunday school teacher.

“It was a wonderful example of the idea that in the church we rotate and serve each other and learn from each other,” Bennett said.

He also spoke of Romney’s frugality. After a busy day of church meetings, a volunteer would always be tasked with making sure every light was turned off and that all the doors were locked. Romney has a “sort of a visceral dislike for waste,” Bennett said, and “would never leave the building without walking through every room and turning off every light.”

A key episode in Romney’s stint as bishop was a destructive fire at his ward’s almost-completed Mormon meeting house in Belmont, Massachusetts. It was a suspected arson, though the cause of the fire was ultimately unknown.

Following the blaze, various nearby houses of worship - Catholic, Protestant and Jewish - invited the Mormon ward to meet in their buildings while it rebuilt. Bennett said that Romney’s response was telling: He decided that the ward would meet in a handful of different houses of worship as a way to build ties in a community that seemed suspicious of Mormonism.

“He did it that way both to express appreciation to accept the offer of help but also to simply get to know our neighbors. … He saw this as a bridge-building opportunity,” Bennett said. “And it really did set the stage for the church being in Belmont, perhaps more actively involved really in interfaith kinds of relationships certainly than we had been.”

Bennett worked under Romney at Bain Capital but said he was always impressed with Romney’s emphasis on family and service rather than just making money.

Could some of those themes emerge in Bennett’s Thursday speech? He didn’t reply to requests for comments this week.

Ken Hutchins, who with his wife will give the invocation Thursday, is not expected to speak specifically about Romney’s faith. But he told the Deseret News this month that Romney, while serving as stake president for the church, tapped him to be a bishop. The Deseret News paints a nice picture of the relationship:

… (T)he two men could not have been more different. Romney, the son of an auto industry CEO and former governor, was the CEO of Bain Capital. Hutchins, the son of a union organizer for mill workers in Massachusetts, was chief of police in a small town. … Together, he and Romney carted Mormon teenagers all over Boston for youth activities, figured out to build congregations for a burgeoning community of foreign-speaking Mormon immigrants in inner city Boston, and helped bring a Mormon temple to Boston.

"We had some just outrageous, wonderful, memory-stoking youth events," Hutchins told the Deseret News. "Mitt was an integral part of those memories. I spent time with him there and talked with him and got to live with him so to speak. He was a terrific leader."

soundoff(552 Responses)

Maria Carvalho

My experience with Mormonism is very limited but I have seen enough to find it a very close religion. Their universe is composed of only saints as they call themselves. It does have secret ceremonies that are more common in a cult than a mainstream religion. Everytime I asked their "elders" a question they answered with another one. Very defensive. I love knowledge and my questions were serious but they were not open. Then I read the Book of Mormon...their cosmology is out of this world, to say the least.

August 30, 2012 at 8:21 pm |

Sam's Uncle

Maria, then Mormonism may be the only "close" religion that sends 19-22 year old young men and women out into the word to tell you all about the church.

August 30, 2012 at 8:33 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

No, the Mormons tell you what they want you to know until you are into their church thickly. AND even then their false prophets are constantly changing their doctrines to whatever suits them.

OH Sam's Uncle, my user name is a joke but you prob won't understand. You are so deep in your religion that you are afraid of me. I know when I was attending my ward that I was not allowed to question anything in the church. I know you might be scared right now because your church's true beliefs are becoming known and you know it cannot stand up to all of its false prophecies and the contradictions between the BoM and the Bible. Don't worry, you can repent the same way I did. God still loves you, ask for forgiveness and get in to a good Bible Study group.

August 30, 2012 at 8:41 pm |

Sam's Uncle

Yep, I'm so scared of you that I keep directly addressing you. I wish fear wouldn't get the best of me. Tell me something...how do you know the Bible is the word of God? Simple question, you should be able to provide a simple answer right?

August 30, 2012 at 8:46 pm |

Sam's Uncle

And for reference, I get the username.

August 30, 2012 at 8:48 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

I knew you would be forced to deal with your truth! I know the Bible is the word of God for many reasons, some being: Rather, it is a collection of 66 different books written over a vast time span in three languages on three continents with authors from every station in life. These ancient works cover every major topic dealing with the human condition including: love, hate, death, sin, marriage, civil laws, and relationships with each other as well as with God. Although these works were written independently, they show an amazing congruency and they never contradict each other!
Read more: http://www.comereason.org/cmp_rlgn/cmp005.asp#ixzz2554XqXUp
Also fulfilled prophecies. I can go on and on if you would like. Why do you believe the Book of Mormon to be more truthful than the Bible?

August 30, 2012 at 8:58 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

I must leave now as I have work to do. If any of you have questions about the Mormon religion (since they keep a lot of their beliefs secretive and also change their beliefs quite frequently), please check out this website: MormonInfo.org It will show you the difference between Mormons and Christians. Truth, don't run from it!

August 30, 2012 at 9:12 pm |

skarphace

Please: "they never contradict each other."

Huh? Are you serious? There are many contradictions in the Bible, one of the first being that there are actually two (that's right, two) accounts of creation in Genesis and they are not identical. Therefore, a contradiction.

August 30, 2012 at 9:55 pm |

Sam's Uncle

Sorry, I was waiting so long for your simple answer, I had to leave and actually go live the gopel rather than talk about it. Ok so the Bible is a collection of 66 books right? Who decided those specific books should end up in the "Bible?" Where does the Bible come from? Now we're really testing you knowledge of history.

August 30, 2012 at 10:04 pm |

Sam's Uncle

Further, I don't believe the Book of Mormon to be more truthful than the Bible. I accept both books as true, but we're not talking about how I know things are "true" yet. I already know that you can't...and yes I mea can't accept the truth of what I believe.

August 30, 2012 at 10:07 pm |

CGS

If you are stupid enough to use religion as a voting criteria, here are your choices: a guy who committed to one religion and has been living it; or a guy who went to muslim schools, sat in Reverend Wright's Marxist church for 20 years and then dumped both traditions when it was politically expedient.

Fine. I will promise not to use religion as a voting criteria if you promise that Republican leaders will not base policy on their faith.

I am being facetious. I know you cannot speak for our elected leaders. I just wish that Republicans would not say "religion does not matter" with one side of their mouths, and then try to base policy on their faith with the other.

August 30, 2012 at 8:21 pm |

skarphace

Romney's faith does not matter to me. Faith is not why I am voting for Obama, it is policy. If I believed in Romney's vision for America, where the wealthy do not pay taxes and poor people fend for themselves, then I would vote for him regardless of his faith.

However, I am completely surprised that Romney's faith does not matter to Teavangelicals. The very same people that are trying to shove their version of Christianity down America's throat are the same people voting for a Mormon? Seems quite hypocritical to me. However, I shouldn't be surprised at hypocracy from the Tea Party.

When a religion will not tell you what they believe, until you are well into the church, RUN!

August 30, 2012 at 8:13 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

AMEN!

August 30, 2012 at 8:18 pm |

Howard

So, you're saying that we Americans should never have to PASS IT, SO SEE WHAT'S IN IT !!!

August 30, 2012 at 8:21 pm |

Mark

Yes I would definitely agree with that. Scientology seems to work the same way. I suppose Islam to a degree does too. Give people an excuse to lie that looks purposeful but in reality it's to protect the garbage they believe. Scientologists are the last people to ask if you want to learn about scientology.
THey know it's ridiculous so they tell members that it's ok to hide the truth because these people aren't smart enough to hear it. Not like you with your superiour super intellect. lol.
Then Islam has that whole "OK to lie because we're at war" thing so who knows when you're getting a straight answer on anything. Are you smoking d0pe and banging a prost|tute because you want to or because you want to fit in and you're undercover? lol (pretty sure we all know the real answer)

August 30, 2012 at 8:25 pm |

skarphace

Mark: can't it be both?

August 30, 2012 at 8:36 pm |

Mark

This is going to be a turkey shoot eventually once people start feeling comfortable discussing Romney's religion. Mormonism is one of the most easily disproven faiths on earth. Honestly, the bible is a book that has a mystique to it but manmade religion can be so ridiculous.
Mormons beliefs were based on a lot of assumptions and as the assumptions are shown to be false they just erase them from their memory and move on. If the assumptions were wrong then the guy who claimed to be speaking for God was dellusional at best. You can't just ignore reality.
And for christianity in general, where in the bible does Jesus advocate getting involved in politics? He kind of does the opposite in fact.
Personally I think Romney is a psychopath as are most politicians and a large percentage of Wallstreet.

August 30, 2012 at 8:10 pm |

Howard

NO FAITHS CAN BE PROVEN ... BUT, AT LEAST THE MORMONS DIDN'T FLY PLANES INTO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER, DON'T ENGAGE IN HONOR KILLINGS ... AND, THE MORMONS WEREN'T RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INQUISITION !!!

August 30, 2012 at 8:25 pm |

Mark

The Mormons have plenty of blood on their hands in their short history. Look it up. They weren't around for the inquisition.
BTW, In the bible Jesus' biggest enemy was RELIGION. He spent his time with the sinners and the tax collectors and preached that organized religion was a gigantic evil wh0re! lol.
Don't mix up the bible with religion. What the Catholics do about as much in common with the bible as it does with the Quran.

August 30, 2012 at 8:29 pm |

peter

led–by the way, mormons don't have to be santanists to be santanists–The lds claims that the book of mormon is the word of God which is blasphemy to christendom

August 30, 2012 at 8:09 pm |

robyn b

Peter, I think you need to stop being a religious bigot. Mormons are Christians. The bible defines a Christian as a follower of Christ. I choose to follow the bible's defination. Mormons are good honest people. I think Christ should be the one to define who a Christian is. You can vote for Obama if you wish, but expect religious freedom to be taken away. His attack on religion will just get stronger when he doesn't have an election to win. the democrats are attacking Romeny's religion now because they know Obama has a lously record as President. I take it that you are an Obamaite and will do anything; even attack a group of innocent people to get him elected. SHAME on you!

August 30, 2012 at 8:35 pm |

skarphace

Robyn: if you want to answer the question of whether Mormonism is Christianity, just ask a Mormon these questions:

"Do you believe that Jesus is the one and only true son of God?"

"Do you believe in the Trinity?"

"Do you believe that the only way to salvation is through the direct teachings of Jesus Christ and no other prophet?"

"Do you believe that Jesus Christ's death on the cross is the only reason why our sins are forgiven today?"

Once you learn their answer to these questions, you realize that Mormons are most definitely not Christians.

In addition, if you look deeper into the Mormon faith, you find other more glaring inconsistencies with Christianity. For example, they believe that if someone who is high up in the Mormon hierarchy (such as Romney would be), they get a planet of their own and will act as God to that planet. Therefore, they aren't even a "one God" religion.

Do the research before assuming that just because evangelical leaders all of a sudden accept Romney that Mormonism and Christianity are compatible. They are not.

August 30, 2012 at 8:42 pm |

Stephanie

Skarphace, Mormon's are Christians.

"Do you believe that Jesus is the one and only true son of God?"
Yep!

"Do you believe in the Trinity?"
Yep! We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

"Do you believe that the only way to salvation is through the direct teachings of Jesus Christ and no other prophet?"
Yep! We believe that Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father answers our prayers and gives us guidance in our lives through the Holy Ghost and through his servants, the prophets of old and today.

"Do you believe that Jesus Christ's death on the cross is the only reason why our sins are forgiven today?"
Yep! We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

I'd also like to address the "get your own planet" thing. It is not official LDS (Latter Day Saint, or Mormon) doctrine that anybody will "get their own planet" or "become Gods" someday, but it's a common error in our beliefs.
You can visit http://www.mormon.org to read more about what we believe.

August 30, 2012 at 9:09 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

I really must go to work but I need to refute what Stephanie has said. Mormons are not Christians. If you want real evidence as to why they are not, please visit mormoninfo.org. Tell the truth if you believe in your religion! Christians believe in 1 God, not your blasphemus many Gods and that people can actually become a God. Shame on you!

August 30, 2012 at 9:27 pm |

Stephanie

@Please Dont Contact ME
We believe that God is the one and only true God and that Jesus Christ is the son of God. I know that I probably won't change your mind about what you think we believe, but I know what I believe, and what the rest of the members of the Church believe.
You can read what Latter Day Saints/Mormons believe at mormon.org (one of the official sites for the church).

August 30, 2012 at 10:03 pm |

skarphace

"Do you believe that Jesus is the one and only true son of God?"
Yep!

Actually, Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is A son of God, not THE son of God. And this is not just a matter of semantics. Mormons believe that everybody is a son of God because the Holy Spirit was directly involved in their birth. They do not believe that Jesus is the biological son of God, that is, that God himself fathered Jesus, not a mortal human being. Therefore, they do not see the birth of Jesus as any more special than the birth of any other human being.

"Do you believe in the Trinity?"
Yep! We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

True. You believe in all three. However, you do not believe in the Trinity defined as the three are one. That is, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are actually one and the same being.

"Do you believe that the only way to salvation is through the direct teachings of Jesus Christ and no other prophet?"
Yep! We believe that Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father answers our prayers and gives us guidance in our lives through the Holy Ghost and through his servants, the prophets of old and today.

Nope! You believe that the path to salvation can be found through any of the Great Prophets, of which Jesus is one, but so is Joseph Smith. In fact, I would argue that Mormons hold the teachings of Joseph Smith above the teachings of Jesus.

"Do you believe that Jesus Christ's death on the cross is the only reason why our sins are forgiven today?"
Yep! We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

Nope! You believe that Jesus rose from the dead in spiritual form, not physical form, just like everybody rises from the dead in spiritual form before facing the creator, and therefore, just like the birth of Christ, Mormons do not see the death of Christ as any more special than the death of any other human being.

I'd also like to address the "get your own planet" thing. It is not official LDS (Latter Day Saint, or Mormon) doctrine that anybody will "get their own planet" or "become Gods" someday, but it's a common error in our beliefs.

Error is correct. And it used to be official not all that long ago.

August 30, 2012 at 10:04 pm |

Stephanie

@skarphace
I probably won't be able to address everything, but there's an FAQ section on mormon.org (one of the official sites of the church). You don't have to join our church or anything, but I did want to clear up what our church believes.

"Actually, Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is A son of God, not THE son of God. And this is not just a matter of semantics. Mormons believe that everybody is a son of God because the Holy Spirit was directly involved in their birth. They do not believe that Jesus is the biological son of God, that is, that God himself fathered Jesus, not a mortal human being. Therefore, they do not see the birth of Jesus as any more special than the birth of any other human being."

Official church doctrine is that we don't know the exact processes of how Jesus was born. However we do believe that Jesus Christ was the literal son of God. Yes, we believe that we are all spiritual children of God, but Jesus Christ was the literal son of God. How that happened, we don't claim to know. We believe that Christ's birth was different than a normal man's, though.

"True. You believe in all three. However, you do not believe in the Trinity defined as the three are one. That is, that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are actually one and the same being"

We don't believe that Heavenly Father, Christ and the Holy Ghost are one being. We believe that they are seperate beings united in purpose.

"Nope! You believe that the path to salvation can be found through any of the Great Prophets, of which Jesus is one, but so is Joseph Smith. In fact, I would argue that Mormons hold the teachings of Joseph Smith above the teachings of Jesus."

We definetly do not believe that we hold the teachings of Joseph Smith above Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ is the son of God, and Joseph Smith was a man, and a prophet of God. The church's name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints, and any member who holds Joseph Smith in their hearts above Jesus Christ does not understand the beliefs of the church.

"Nope! You believe that Jesus rose from the dead in spiritual form, not physical form, just like everybody rises from the dead in spiritual form before facing the creator, and therefore, just like the birth of Christ, Mormons do not see the death of Christ as any more special than the death of any other human being."

We believe that the atonement was fulfilled thorough Christ's death and resurrection. We believe that he rose from the grave in a celestial form, with a perfected body. "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

August 30, 2012 at 10:35 pm |

Stephanie

@ skarphace
I almost forgot to ask, when was the belief that "we would have our own planet someday" official? I've never seen an official church statement regarding the issue, other than, "we don't know."

August 30, 2012 at 10:37 pm |

Legalism

"all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

August 30, 2012 at 10:39 pm |

Mormon misconceptions

"We believe that he rose from the grave in a celestial form, with a perfected body."

John 20:
Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

August 30, 2012 at 10:45 pm |

Stephanie

@Mormon misconceptions
If you're referring to the nail marks in his hands and feet, we don't know why he kept those marks, but we do believe that he was resurrected. For one reason or another, he decided to keep those marks. We don't claim to know how or why.

August 30, 2012 at 10:53 pm |

Jesus was a hunchback

Mormon views on blacks are shameful.

August 30, 2012 at 8:09 pm |

TownC

Mitt is running for president, not to be the country's religious leader. His religion has shaped who he is but he will not force Mormonism on anyone. He did not do that as Governor of Massachusetts and he won't do it when he is elected. Mitt is highly qualified. His was a successful governor and businessman. He also turned around the Salt Lake Olympics. Above all of this, he is a good decent man. That is the main reason the Obama campaigns character attacks will ultimately fail and Mitt will win.

August 30, 2012 at 8:00 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

It is Romney who stated his religion defines who he is as a man. SO that being said, do yo also believe that God lives on another planet? Do you also believe that you can become a God?

August 30, 2012 at 8:04 pm |

SafeJourney

Town, really? Google white horse prophecy and see if Bishop romney fits. Then google lying for the lord. its a mormon thing

August 30, 2012 at 8:20 pm |

hawksteel

What Romney means is that his faith has made him more caring and compassionate as a man. His wonderful relationship with his wife and children, and his highly charitable contributions are a result of the teachings he learns from his faith.

August 30, 2012 at 8:30 pm |

Question for the Mittster

Mitt's a true believing Mormon... I want to ask him why God changed his mind about black people in 1978.

August 30, 2012 at 7:51 pm |

bryes

Also, did the Southern Baptist God change his mind about slavery?

August 30, 2012 at 7:55 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

Mormans have changed their doctrine over 2,000 times since it was established.... Hey Mitt is a true Mormon because he changes his views all the time!

August 30, 2012 at 7:57 pm |

TownC

Why don't you go to Mormon.org to get information about Mormons? Better yet, talk to a Mormon.

August 30, 2012 at 8:03 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

Town C your website doesn't address why they felt that black men were not allowed in the priest hood PRIOR to 1978. Why don't you clarify?

August 30, 2012 at 8:07 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

PS I don't have to ask a Mormon because I am a former Mormon. That's right, seminary, firesides and everything else! I later learned how the Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible so I knew I was following false prophets. I asked for forgiveness from God, that's right not from a Bishop but from God.

August 30, 2012 at 8:14 pm |

TownC

I would tell you be apparently I can't contact you!

August 30, 2012 at 8:15 pm |

Sam's Uncle

You know Please Don't Contact Me, once a Mormon always a Mormon. I don't know that we can even trust anything you say anymore.

August 30, 2012 at 8:18 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

lol Why do Mormons always say that "once a mormon always a mormon"... Don't run from me because I have knowledge of your church, oh yes including baptism for the dead in two different temples! OUch! Don't be afraid to admit to what you believe in. I am telling you that I used to as well until I gained actual knowledge from the Bible. WHich do you believe in the Bible or the BoM? If you are confident in your beliefs than you should not be afraid to admit to them.

August 30, 2012 at 8:29 pm |

No Longer a Mormon

I want to ask him where Planet Kolob is. How cool that the Mormon God has his own planet.

August 30, 2012 at 8:43 pm |

Newtonslaw

Well, after 6 years of running for office Mittwit gets his chance to show the world, again , that he shouldn't even be on this stage. Believing in myths and failed GOP policies that got us into 2 wars and the worst depression since the thirties. He will posture and pose but will not offer any specifics. He will ramble and empathically try and relate to those of us who do not have elevators for our cars in our houses. A draft dodger who hides behind his "religion", or "cult", who thinks America is a business not a country that was designed for All. It's a joke , a sham, a scam and a shame that so many fools buy the lies. Good luck America, you'll need it!

August 30, 2012 at 7:50 pm |

sue

Hopefully if Romney is elected he'll make the lazy welfare recipients work. Wow that would be about half of the Mormon people with the multiple wives and kids.

August 30, 2012 at 7:49 pm |

PoodlePup

Shhh! They don't want anyone to know how big a bunch of traitorous parasites they really are! Shhhh!

August 30, 2012 at 7:51 pm |

hawksteel

Your post show your ignorance about the mainstream Mormon or Latter Day Saints as they are called. They have banned the practice of polygamy over 100 years ago. Those few who had refused to stop the practice had been ousted from the main church and they have nothing to do with mainstream Mormon church. Saying that, if you are a Christian, you should know Abrahams and many of the Old Testament prophets had wives and concubines. So the Christian God obviously did not consider polygamy an evil thing under certain situation.

August 30, 2012 at 8:39 pm |

David Fillmore

I am not voting for Mitt, but I do like this article and interview discussing his faith.

August 30, 2012 at 7:48 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

Romney states that his faith defines him. He served a mission in the late 60's to convert people to his beliefs. Mormons still believed blacks to be inferior to whites til 1978 per their own doctrine. Isn't this something you should know about someone running for President of the UNITED States?

August 30, 2012 at 7:55 pm |

Charly Brains

Wow, now we'll see if mormons really tell the truth.
1st. They are no Christians, They deny that Jesus is God himself.
2nd. All the prophesies told by his prophet and leader (Joseph Smith), has not become true. Maybe if Rommey becomes president tis alone will be the very first accurate prophesy.
3rd. Mormons are so scared of the real job of being Christians. You'll never see mormons going to preach to China, Afganistan, Irak or, more closer, to the lost and really tough, impoverished and full of crime neighborhoods of North America.
God bless those who really are doing the job of a true Christian...

August 30, 2012 at 7:48 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

I would love if Romney gets up there and tells everyone how Mormons really believe that God came from another planet and that Mormons can actually become Gods. Tell the truth Romney! Mormons are not Christians!

August 30, 2012 at 7:52 pm |

peter

captain moroni gave an example–the truth why those people are not christians–he believes as does the lds that the book of mormon is the word of God and is a "second witness" that jesus is the christ. The jesus christ of the lds is not the christ of christendom but a false christ proclaimed and written by joeseph smith who published his blasphemy in 1830.

August 30, 2012 at 7:55 pm |

Sam's Uncle

Please tell me about this Christ from true Christendom. What makes him so different??

August 30, 2012 at 8:20 pm |

jdaddy05

Well Carly Brains...lets think about this.
Jesus when he was baptized came out of the water and then a voice from heaven said. " This is my beloved son, in whom I am well Pleased." I guess Jesus will just talk to himself after he is baptized...because lets face it that makes sense...oh yeah thats suppose to be the Holy Ghost...so if the Son of God and god and the Holy Ghost are the same being, why would he speak to himself...Sounds stupid to me. God, Jesus Christ (The Son of God) and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings, but are one with a common goal....You know I am probably going to fast for you...let me know when you have figured that out.

August 30, 2012 at 8:24 pm |

A.J

Charly Brains,

You are so wrong! I have no idea where you get all these information from. Did you hear it from someone who is mormon or did you do your research on http://www.lds.org or http://www.mormon.org? I bet you didn't. If you wanted to buy a ford car, would you go to the Nissan website to find out about Ford? Of course not.

1. See Hebrews 4:14. Jesus is the son of God. Mormons believe that Jesus is the son of God. See:http://mormon.org/jesus-christ
2.Which prophesies are you talking about?
3. You do see mormon missionaries in China, africa and many other countries. I was raised on a small island off the east coast of Africa. I learned more about Mormonism from missionaries from the United States who decided to sacrifice 2 years of their lives to come to my country and tell us about God. My friend recently decided to become a mormon missionary. She was called to serve in Madagascar. I have a co-worker who served in Taiwan.

How are Mormons not christians when "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has donated more than $1 billion in cash and material assistance to 167 different countries in need of humanitarian aid since it started keeping track in 1985."
http://mormon.org/humanitarian-aid

Please do you research before saying things that are not true.

August 30, 2012 at 8:27 pm |

peter

A.J-the reason you are not part of christendom is because you believe in the cursed false christ that the book of mormon speaks about–the book of mormon was preached and written by your cursed prophet joeseph smith..It's that simple. The book of mormon is blasphemy and you are not a christian

August 30, 2012 at 8:35 pm |

skarphace

jdaddy: "Jesus when he was baptized came out of the water and then a voice from heaven said. " This is my beloved son, in whom I am well Pleased." I guess Jesus will just talk to himself after he is baptized."

You are clearly not a Christian because you do not understand what is the very basis of Christianity. I will spell it out for you here: when Jesus Christ rose from the grave and ascended to heaven he BECAME God. At that point, the Trinity came into being: hence why the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were from that moment on one and the same being.

This is what Christians believe and other psuedo-Christian religions such as Jehova's Witnesses and Mormons do not believe.

August 30, 2012 at 10:32 pm |

wade moran

Oh the insanity! What's next, a Black President?!?

August 30, 2012 at 7:39 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

The Mormons would certainly have objected to a black president prior to 1978 (including Mitt of course) since they felt they were inferior. Silly Mormons, don't they know that the Bible tells us that God loves all of us!

August 30, 2012 at 7:59 pm |

Sam's Uncle

Nope, simply not true.

August 30, 2012 at 8:07 pm |

Sam's Uncle

Mormons wouldn't object to a black president, and I'm pretty sure the bible says God doesn't love people like you.

August 30, 2012 at 8:08 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

What is not true?

August 30, 2012 at 8:10 pm |

jdaddy05

I know lots of Black Mormon Bishops...Guess the LDS church discriminates and are racist...WOW. The stupidity of the American People....I'm not even from the US (Would hate to live in the US.) I have free health care, never have to wait to get operations, get some of the best doctors in the world working on me if I needed to (even Doctors from the US.) and I don't pay a thing...oh yeah that's right. I live in CANADA.

August 30, 2012 at 8:29 pm |

Captain Moroni

The Book of Mormon is the true word of God. This precious record goes hand-in-hand with the Bible and is second witness that Jesus is the Christ. Here is a section.

“Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, … and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you” (Moro. 10:32).

“Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
“And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot” (Moroni 10:32–33).

Is there anything bad in the above scripture? Does the above scripture not show that Christ is the head of our church and that we follow Christ in word and deed and that we are true followers of Christ? No man could have written this but with God. Get yourself a copy and read it. You will also know that it is true. Those that are in disbelief, I exhort you to read and learn for yourself.

August 30, 2012 at 7:38 pm |

peter

blasphemy and a lie–cursed is the spirit that wrote the book of mormon

August 30, 2012 at 7:41 pm |

Joe Shmo

Just who is this Captain Moroni? Is he a new superhero??

August 30, 2012 at 7:45 pm |

Kolob

Sir – doesn't it bother you that you'd be preaching to Alah if you were born in South Arabia, for example?

August 30, 2012 at 7:48 pm |

0G-No gods, ghosts, goblins or ghouls

Got any evidence at all for the truth of your fairy tale?

August 30, 2012 at 7:49 pm |

Please Dont Contact ME

MORMONS ARE NOT CHRISTIANS: Humans may become Gods for other worlds as God is God for this world.

Worthy Mormons may become gods to create, rule over and receive worship from their own worlds some day. They will do this exclusively as the god or the team of gods for that world or that set of worlds (like the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are for this world or this set of worlds), and thus the God of this world will not perform those functions there (Ibid; D&C 76:50-8 and 95, 132:15-23, 29, and 37; The Latter-day Saint Woman: Basic Manual for Women, Part A, Lesson 10: Eternal Marriage; and Gospel Principles, 302 [1997 edition]).

August 30, 2012 at 7:50 pm |

Ledikowski

Captain Moroni, I bet to differ, am a Christian and I know a guy who was a satanist and had been sent to come attack a pastor of a church and he was overpowered by the power of the true God and delivered by Jesus Christ, and he testified saying that he was being flown to Utah to be trained and they used the church of mormons for training. He also said that one of the guys who was his elder in the satanic world was named moroni, might that be you??

August 30, 2012 at 7:58 pm |

Sam's Uncle

Please Don't Contact Me: If you're going to cite spefic manuals and pages in manuals, you better make sure the citations are right. Lesson 10 in gospel principles in the 1997 edition is on "scriptures". It starts on page 52. Also, page 302 doesn't say anything about replacing God on other worlds. I am holding the manual as I write this.

August 30, 2012 at 8:06 pm |

peter

led–i don't believe one word of your story

August 30, 2012 at 8:07 pm |

TheTraveler

"Moroni", the name of the angel who allegedly gave the golden plates to Joseph Smith ... The book of Galatians gives clearly warns us about an angel bringing another gospel, while claiming that it is the same gospel. This is precisely what the Book of Mormon does. The angel called Moroni in Mormonism allegedly gave the golden plates to Joseph Smith who was to translate them into English. This was supposed to be the “restoration” of the gospel, which assumes that the gospel needs to be restored.

In 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, we are warned a second time about “another gospel.”
3. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

So, we are warned in advance of this book.

August 30, 2012 at 8:19 pm |

Willis

True word of God huh??? Let me tell you a little story. Iwas in St George a couple of years back & a man & woman tried to talk me into the Cult of the Tabby Nackles. I simply said Sure, if you appoint a BLACK Elder. Needless to say That conversation ended Abruptly!!!!!!! Racist m f So b s!!!!!!!! Either let the Afican Americans become Elders, which 0 out of 14 Million are or your tax exempt status goes Bye Bye!!!!!!!!! Its not 1948. Yall should be ashamed of yourself. You never did formally Apologize for all thos SEVERLY Horrible Scriptures in The Book of Tabby Nacklism. TRUE BIGOTS you all are!!!!!!!

August 30, 2012 at 8:36 pm |

Sam's Uncle

Willis, I just learned the Cult of the Tabby Nackles just appointed their first "black" elder. I would say you should join the Mormon church though. They've had African Americans in leadership positions for some time.

August 30, 2012 at 8:43 pm |

Maria Carvalho

Dear Captain: I read it and it sounded like science fiction to me. Christians are not allowed to believe any other book but the Bible. By that criteria, Mormons are not Christians. To put this in perspective: I was raised a Roman Catholic and we have many an outlandish believe. Yet I found the principles of Mormonism bizarre beyond description. I am not judging, just describing my feelings about what I read. Again I have read sacred books from many world religions, I enjoy that kind of reading. Maybe because Mormonism went against my core beliefs I found it very disturbing. But after all, isn't this a secular democracy?

August 30, 2012 at 8:48 pm |

jeremy

By their works ye shall know them. I love Romney.

August 30, 2012 at 7:27 pm |

BOB JONES

I BET HE'S FROM UTAH, THATS WHERE MORMANS ARE BUILT IN THE MORMAN FACTORIES

August 30, 2012 at 7:22 pm |

sam

THEY'RE JUST ASSEMBLED THERE, BOB, THE PARTS ARE OUTSOURCED.

August 30, 2012 at 7:24 pm |

Dr.Cole

Don't forget...they throw virgins from the top of the Salt Lake Temple to the Great Salt Lake...even though it is over 5 miles. It's gotta be true though, because someone told me that it happens.

August 30, 2012 at 7:46 pm |

bryes

What is a Morman? Is there such thing as a Morwoman?

August 30, 2012 at 7:53 pm |

Sam's Uncle

No Sam, I thought it was your mother that outsourced to get you.

August 30, 2012 at 7:55 pm |

robyn b

Bob, you can't even spell Mormon right. That is an offensive comment if I ever heard one. It was people like you who give liberals a bad name, go back to the Obama page. I know they have asked for their minons to attack Mitt's religion. Can yhou honestly say that you are better then those who attack a person's race? I keep wondering how low Obama's followers will go, but they keep surprising me with their new lows.

Why the GOP and any religious politician is very bad for the USA[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRxr9jxF6mg&w=640&h=390]
When will CNN have the courage to speak out against religious ignorance like MSNBC did.

August 30, 2012 at 7:08 pm |

ReasonSeason

This video isn't an accurate depiction of the republican party nor religion.

August 30, 2012 at 7:45 pm |

ScottCA

Professor Pinkers understanding of faith is most accurate., even if you do not wish to admit it.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdBJL1c7xUI&w=640&h=390]

August 30, 2012 at 7:56 pm |

Dr.Cole

Wow Scott...you just ended up showing how wrong you are. The claim that "any" religious politician is bad for America, just makes you end up becoming exactly what we don't need or want. We need a united America. Yes, we may all have a difference of opinions, ideals, histories, etc. If we are going to create a wonderful country, we must be tolerant and desire for everyone to reach their potential...otherwise our country will fall.

August 30, 2012 at 9:55 pm |

ScottCA

Dr.Cole. I will limit my remark to Faith based religion, and in that context I stand by it. It was not meant to relate to non faith based forms of religion that are more philosophies than religions.

We most definitely do not need to be led by people blinded by faith and unable to determine what is real from evidence.
Faith in the sense of believing in something without good reason, is always an unintelligent act.

August 31, 2012 at 12:35 pm |

peter

Romney believes the book of mormon is the word of God–The book of mormon written by joeseph smith in the 1800s is not the word of God–the book of mormon is blasphemy–Hence romney nor the lds aka mormons are not christians.
They believe in a false jesus christ preached and written by their so called cursed prophet joeseph smith.

August 30, 2012 at 7:06 pm |

sam

Sure, but magnets – how do they work??

August 30, 2012 at 7:23 pm |

THX1953

And every other religion in the world feels the exact same way about yours.

August 30, 2012 at 7:23 pm |

Really

Oh the ignorance!

August 30, 2012 at 7:25 pm |

Captain Moroni

Peter, have you read any part of the Book of Mormon? Here is a section of the book. Does this look like Joseph Smith made this up. Does it speak of Christ? What part of this is bad? Are sure you want to continue to condemn spoken words from God?

“Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, … and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you” (Moro. 10:32).
“Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
“And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot” (Moroni 10:32–33).

Do you really think that some made this up? Go read the book and you will see for yourself.

August 30, 2012 at 7:27 pm |

peter

Joespeh smith condemned himself the day he proclaimed his antichrist to the world. Mormons are cursed to the 7th generation. Anyone can write a book and claim that is another testament of jesus christ–It is better for ron hubbard that it is for your cursed prophet joeseph smith.

August 30, 2012 at 7:39 pm |

Stephanie

Peter, you're right. Anybody can write a book and proclaim that it's another testament of Jesus Christ. But I've read the Book of Mormon through many times, and I truly believe that it is the word of God, and that the people in that book really did exist.
You don't have to believe it if you don't want to. But at least read the book yourself or look on Mormon.org to read about what we really believe before you curse our prophet's name.

The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.